Prayer: Yes Or No

Today, there are many who are not seeking God with their all, these are those who are (Matthew 22:37) not being diligent in their faith (Hebrews 11:6 and Jeremiah 29:11-13) and prayers to him. We find that in the Scriptures that God does answer our prayers (John 16:24); yet also it says that there are some conditions for effective prayer. One must believe (James 1:6-8 and Matthew 21:22) and forsake sin (Isaiah 59:1-2). Also we must forgive those who committed anything against us even as Christ freely forgave us of all things. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. (Matthew 6:15) We must as Christians continue in his word of grace and truth having our fellowship with God. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. (John 15:7) Many people believe answered prayer is God granting a prayer request that is offered up to Him. And when a prayer request is not granted it is seen as an unanswered prayer. Nevertheless, this is an incorrect understanding of prayer. God answers every prayer that is lifted to him. He answers yes, no, or later on. God only promises to grant our prayers when we ask according to his will. And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. (1 John 5:14-15) So, what does it mean to pray according to the will of God? Praying according to God’s will is praying for things that honor and glorify God and/or praying for what the Bible clearly reveals God’s will to be. If we pray for something that is not honoring to God or not God’s will for our lives, he cannot honor that. How can we know what God’s will is? God promises to give us wisdom when we ask for it. James 1:5 proclaims, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” A good place to start is 1 Thessalonians 5:12-24, which outlines many things that are God’s will for us. The more that we understand the word of God, the better we will know what to pray for (John 15:7). The better we know what to pray for, the more often God will answer “yes” to our requests. As we will know his will more intimately. One must recall that their salvation depends solely upon Jesus (John 10:9/14:6, Colossians 32:12/3:17, Acts 2:38/4:12/8:12-40/10:3648/18:8/19:1-5/22:16). And not upon a man-made interpretation (such as the trinity) or non biblical prayer that supposedly saves your soul. In either case, these formulas are man made and not biblically inspired or God breathed. All things must based upon and found in the word of God in order to be safely saved.